Waterlilies: miracles that you can grow | James Wong

Long thought to be impossible, a hardy lavender waterlily was gardening’s holy grail – until 2007...

In the cosy world of gardening, it’s rare something comes along that changes everything. But for lovers of water plants, in the summer of 2007 a Thai farmer would overturn almost 100 years of entrenched dogma with a creation that many thought impossible: a hardy blue waterlily.

With their flawless translucent petals, waterlilies are among the most beautiful of all garden plants. Yet their quirky genetics mean that, unlike most garden favourites, this genus eluded the endeavours of plant breeders until just over a century ago. Right up to the late 1800s the only waterlily available to European gardeners was the white native form. Then a French horticultural genius called Joseph Bory Latour-Marliac cracked a hybridising technique whose results dramatically expanded the options available by mixing in the genes of waterlily species from North America. Pinks, yellows, oranges and reds were the result. It was his waterlilies that inspired Monet, resulting in an explosion in the plant’s popularity.

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Working towards peas and peace | Allan Jenkins

It’s tempting to rest, but gardens and summer call, no matter the mood

Up early after a disturbed night’s sleep, spirits low but much to do. I had wanted rest and to recuperate. My bones ache, my heart too, but gardening is therapy.

I had run out of time the night before, stuff left undone. So I am at the allotment, Monday morning before 5am, almost no one else on the road. At the gate, it is just me and the joyful chorus. My troubled world suspends, almost disappears. My breathing and pulse rate slow. I will drift awhile in the moment.

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Working towards peas and peace | Allan Jenkins

It’s tempting to rest, but gardens and summer call, no matter the mood

Up early after a disturbed night’s sleep, spirits low but much to do. I had wanted rest and to recuperate. My bones ache, my heart too, but gardening is therapy.

I had run out of time the night before, stuff left undone. So I am at the allotment, Monday morning before 5am, almost no one else on the road. At the gate, it is just me and the joyful chorus. My troubled world suspends, almost disappears. My breathing and pulse rate slow. I will drift awhile in the moment.

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Modern romance: turning a grey box into a colourful retro home

Bold patterns and splashes of colour bring the 1960s back to life in a perky live-work space in south London

I am in Mark Hampshire and Keith Stephenson’s bright, plant-filled sitting room, enjoying a crash course in midcentury design. Exhibit A: Robin Day’s 1964 Forum sofa, pioneering in its mix of oak and steel. There are folkish wooden dolls by the architect and designer Alexander Girard – “another hero of ours”. Next, a prized set of tumblers made as commemorative souvenirs for the New York World’s Fair of 1964. “It was a showcase for midcentury architecture and design: the last hurrah for the American dream before the realities of the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War set in,” says Mark, warming to this theme. “Each one is a piece of social history.”

We’d always imagined ourselves living on a 1960’s estate with a shared garden and garage for the Mini

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Modern romance: turning a grey box into a colourful retro home

Bold patterns and splashes of colour bring the 1960s back to life in a perky live-work space in south London

I am in Mark Hampshire and Keith Stephenson’s bright, plant-filled sitting room, enjoying a crash course in midcentury design. Exhibit A: Robin Day’s 1964 Forum sofa, pioneering in its mix of oak and steel. There are folkish wooden dolls by the architect and designer Alexander Girard – “another hero of ours”. Next, a prized set of tumblers made as commemorative souvenirs for the New York World’s Fair of 1964. “It was a showcase for midcentury architecture and design: the last hurrah for the American dream before the realities of the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War set in,” says Mark, warming to this theme. “Each one is a piece of social history.”

We’d always imagined ourselves living on a 1960’s estate with a shared garden and garage for the Mini

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‘Is there such a thing as vegan loo roll?’: how to have a cruelty-free home

From plant-based paint to ethical furniture, creating a vegan home is less complicated, and costly, than you may think

With vegan food, fashion and makeup firmly established in the mainstream, more and more people are looking for ways to have an ethical, cruelty-free home, too. You may not have given much thought to what animal-based products crop up in your house, but there are many: fabrics, from silk to wool to sheepskin, are an obvious example – but is your mattress vegan? What goes into your cleaning products, or your energy provider? And is there such a thing as vegan loo roll?

The fact is, you can take a vegan approach to choosing almost anything for your home – and it needn’t be complicated or expensive. Next time you have to replace an item or redecorate a room, shop around for vegan options – you’ll be surprised at what’s available.

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Gardening tips: plant the hardy fuchsia ‘Hawkshead’

Feed your lilies and visit Greys Court garden in Oxfordshire for peace and quiet

Plant this Fuchsia ‘Hawkshead’, may look delicate, but happily this is one of the more hardy of the fuchsia clan. It’s compact (1m tall) and will cope with most soils, given full sun or dappled shade. It loses its leaves in winter but bounces back in spring: in northerly climes it will benefit from a deep mulch and sheltered spot.

Feed this Lilies do well in pots, not least because they seem less susceptible to the scarlet lily beetle. But these are hungry plants: any feed that’s high in potash, such as tomato feed, applied every two weeks as they get ready to flower, will work wonders. Mulching the top of pots with bark will delay them drying out, too.

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